good morning. breaking news. anti-american protesters attack a u.s. consulate in libya and the embassy in cairo, egypt. this after a controversial film ignites a wave of violence. this morning, libyan officials tell nbc news that the u.s. ambassador to libya is dead along with three others. we're live in cairo. high expectations. apple unveiling its newest version of the iphone today. what are the new features? how much will it cost? and can it keep apple on top of the smartphone game? and life after murder. the first images of scott peterson on death row at san quentin prison for the murder of his pregnant wife and unborn

child. we'll talk to the journalist given ray access inside the notorious prison today, wednesday, september 12th, 2012. nbc-universal television captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1 ak-in rockefeller, plaza. good morning. welcome to "today" on this wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm savannah guthrie. we're followinging breaking news that the u.s. ambassador to libya and three others are dead amid violent and ongoing protests in the middle east. demonstrators, angered by a homemade film made by a california real estate developer that ridicules islam's prophet muhammad. >> the worst of the attacks in the consulate in libya, stormed the building opening fire with automatic weapons before burning it to the ground.

secretary of state hillary clinton is strongly condemning the violence and fears it may spread. let's get right to nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel in cairo this morning. richard, good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. as you can see, the protests in front of the u.s. embassy are still continuing. a new group of protesters just arrived in front of the embassy. the situation, although it is somewhat chaotic here, is largely peaceful. there is a very large security presence from the egyptian riot police, and these people are still continuing the same demonstration that they began yesterday. but the bigger news is what we are learning about what happened yesterday in the city of benghazi. a libyan security official told nbc news that the u.s. ambassador, chris stevens, was killed when a mob, an armed mob attacked the consulate in benghazi yesterday. first they attacked the

consulate with rpgs and then automatic rifles and then set the building on fire. this official says that the u.s. ambassador was holed up in some sort of room and apparently died of smoke inhalation. the u.s. state department has not officially confirmed his death, only saying that a u.s. official has been killed. >> and richard, do we know anything about the identity of the three others that were killed in that attack as well? are they americans, military personnel? >> reporter: we don't know. we know -- we've been told that the u.s. ambassador's body and three other bodies have been taken to the benghazi airport. there are some reports that at least one, perhaps all of them, may have been u.s. marines, but we have not been able to confirm that. our source is only saying that it was the ambassador. three other bodies and that the libyan president and prime minister are expected to make

statements about this sometime today. >> and richard, before i let you go, the film that is at the center of this controversy that seems to denounce islam and has angered these protesters has been out for a while. does it seem though as if u.s. officials were caught somewhat flat-footed by these protests? >> reporter: no. i think the u.s. saw this coming. the video has been out there for a while. it was a very obscure online movie, but the case had been picked up by a local preacher here, and the local preacher began to talk about it and started to say that this movie, and it was only described as a movie, not a youtube-type video, was about to be broadcast nationwide in the united states on the anniversary of 9/11, and that's why people came out yesterday to demonstrate to stop the airing of this movie which, of course, was never the case. it was just this online movie, offensive to islam. >> that's nbc's richard engel

outside the u.s. embassy where you can see protests continue this morning in cairo, egypt. richard, thank you very much. >> we want to bring in andrea mitchell our chief foreign affairs correspondent. andrea, as we await any confirmation from the state department, what can you tell us about ambassador stevens, an experienced diplomat in the middle east. >> a career diplomat. this is a man who had gone to berkeley and had gotten a law degree and a degree from the national war college. he was fluent in french and arabic. he had been a peace corps volunteer in 1983 in morocco, teaching english before he joined the foreign service about nine years later. this is a man who has very adept at social media. he was active on facebook. he was very involved with the community. he had been in benghazi during the conflict, during the civil war and then had two previous tours in libya as well and had been an ambassador throughout the middle east as well as in jerusalem in the embassy there.

so this is a career diplomat, a huge tragedy and the first american ambassador, if this is officially confirmed, and we do believe from our sources here as well, that this is sadly, tragically true. this would be the first american ambassador killed on duty since ambassador dougs in afghanistan in 1979. >> folks will recall that benghazi was the focus of the uprising, a lot of the uprising in libya about a year ago what. do you know about the security situation in libya prior to this, and what kind of security a u.s. ambassador would have in a hot spot like this? >> reporter: well, there's always a marine guard, the united states marine who guards all of our facilities this, consulate and embassies so he would have the marines as well as some diplomatic security, but there's no way that they could apparently resist this mob, a flash mob or the sudden uprising that took over the consulate. >> all right. nbc's andrea mitchell with the latest. we'll check back in with you.

thank you. >> reporter: you bet. and the diplomatic crisis is also turning political this morning with the white house and mitt romney's campaign trading duelling statements overnight. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, believe it or not, yesterday began with a pause in the campaign to remember the 11th anniversary of 9/11, but it ended with some nasty political mud-slinging. hoping to contain the fallout from the anti-muslim film, the american embassy in cairo released a statement on tuesday that some republicans considered a partial defense of the violent protests. the embassy denounced the attack as an unjustified breach but appearing to reference an anti-muslim filmmaker here in the united states it also condemned the continued efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of others. mitt romney pounce the. it's disgraceful that the obama

administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks, the gop presidential candidate said in a statement late tuesday. the obama campaign fired back saying it was shocked that following the deadly protests, quote, governor romney would choose to launch a political attack. >> sarah palin! >> even sarah palin joined the fray, paraphrasing a line often used to mock her. >> and can i see russia from my house. >> as a way to slam the white house. >> reporter: apparently president obama can't see egypt and libya from his house, she tweeted. a couple of things. that cairo statement by the embassy there was never approved by the state department or the white house. that said, can i tell you here, matt, officials here are just stunned that the romney campaign wouldn't even wait till daybreak before pouncing on this story considering we didn't have confirmations of the death of the ambassador and others. >> chuck, before i let you go. let's talk about another story we're looking into.

it's a diplomatic story. depending on who you're listening to, it's either a major difference of opinion between president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu or a scheduling conflict. what can you tell me? >> reporter: well, it's a little bit of both. look, the united nations general assembly, it comes into session. the opening session happens late they are month in new york and with both the president and netanyahu going to be in new york, the assumption was, at least on the israeli front, they would get a sit-down with the president. a lot going on with iran, things like that. apparently according to the white house there was a scheduling conflict. the israelis thought they were being snubbed by not getting a one-on-one meeting. the white house says we won't even be in new york the same day. they will both be there at different times, the president jumping right back on the campaign trail. that said, what did the president do last night, matt? he picked up the phone and he and netanyahu with a hundred-hour conversation, and according to the white house version of the events they

agreed, hey, no invitation ever asked for by the israelis, none extended and therefore non-denied. let's be realistic here. the president and netanyahu have never had a great personal relationship. this is just one more piece of evidence. >> all right. chuck todd at the white house this morning. chuck, thank you very much. >> a busy morning. let's get a check of the morning's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. chicago's school system is still at a standstill for the third straight day. nbc's kevin tibbles is there with the very latest on the teachers strike. good morning, kevin. >> reporter: indeed, natalie. third day of empty classrooms, parents juggling kids and jobs and no end in sight. a sea of red in chicago as thousands of striking teachers clogged city streets in a massive show of solidarity. >> we did not pick this fight. we did not start this fight. >> reporter: while days of intense bargaining have negotiators disagreeing on how close the two sides are, 400,000

chicago kids will once again today be out of the classroom. >> i do believe that it was totally avoidable, totally unnecessary. it was a strike of choice, and it's the wrong choice for our children. >> reporter: hot-button issues remain, how teachers are evaluated and the hiring of new teachers versus those who have been laid off. while their children's fate is negotiated behind closed doors, parents hustle to keep them okayed by. >> if it goes into next week we'll find ourselves challenged and have to make the best of it. >> in the meantime we'll make do. do homework at home. >> reporter: and while classrooms sit empty, children just want to know why. >> well, i have a new teacher. and i only had her for four days, and i want to see her again. >> i miss my teacher. >> reporter: and to perhaps ease the strain on some of those parents, those chicago schools like this one behind me here that have been opening their doors for half a day staffed

with non-union employees have now announced that they will stay open an extra two hours each day. natalie? >> tough situation there all around. kevin tibbles in chicago, thank you. a new book from the italian boyfriend of amanda knox admits that he and knox attracted suspicion with their strange behavior after knox's housemate meredith kircher was found dead and he insisted they were innocent. they both served four years in an italian prison for the murder but were acquitted last fall. las vegas is cleaning up after powerful storms left flooded streets and drivers stranded in the road. meantime, heavy rain caused an embankment to breach damaging roads and washing out homes. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange. everybody gearing up for the new apple announcement. >> reporter: the iphone 5 expected to be unveiled today. analysts expect with its slimmer

design and better camera, apple will sell 10 million in the first ten days after it's launched, 50 million by the fourth quarter. you add in all the parts, acc s accessories and contracts sold with it, and one quest adds it could add a quarter to half percent of growth to the economy in the fourth quarter. may not add to apple's stock price initially though. that's because shares typically fall on the day a new iphone is launched. back to you. >> all right. mary thompson, and we'll have much more on the iphone launch coming up in just a moment. a snow day on the red planet. a nasa orbit everyone has spotted evidence of carbon dioxide snowfalls on mars that could even accumulate, apparently, on the red planet's surface. meantime, jupiter may have taken a bullet for us. a large meteorite was caught slamming into the planet's surface on jupiter is the so-called vacuum cleaner of the universe. good thing jupiter is there. back over to matt, savannah and al or bruce willis.

>> by the way, al predict that had snow. >> wow. 100% accuracy on mars. >> i don't like to take credit, but anyway. let's show you what we've got, at least as far as today is concerned, closer to home. we are looking at a big system that's brought all that rain and that flooding to parts of nevada and utah. well, it's pushing to the east. not only is it dropping a lot of rain anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain from omaha down into albuquerque, it's also bringing a big change in the system. >> good morning.tem, it will be another beautiful day today. a touch warmer than yesterday. sunshine with a high temperature near 80 degrees

that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thanks very much. more now on the unexpected unveiling of apple's new iphone in an event in san francisco. what can we expert? digital lifestyle expert mario armstrong is here to tell us. mario, good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> a lot we don't know because no one at apple mistakenly left a prototype at a bar. >> the only apple i can find. >> what can we surmise? bringing props, good. >> it's apple season. we can surmise a couple of things. we know that pretty much with a lot of certainty, thinner device, a little bit longer. we'll be able to see newer devices. probably see the ipad mini, the shortest sized tablet and new nanos and new software, ios software. >> we'll hit the categories people care the most about it. the size, thinner. bigger screen? >> about 4 inches on the screen size and a little bit thinner. >> memory? >> memory pretty standard, 16,

32, 64. may do 128 and charge $1,000 for it but i doubt it. >> the last couple of upgrades, updated the camera. >> absolutely. >> expecting a same camera or new one? >> same camera but better focus and lens. can do quicker shooting and focus. >> what about my friend sirie? >> your girlfriend sire. >> she will be there. >> able to do encyclopedia knowledge on certain things, language and sports scores and stats. >> i read somewhere between 199 and 399. that's the range? >> that's still the range. >> the one rumor that i'm hearing that's going to upset a lot of people is they may change the port structure on this phone. >> yes. >> which would make all of your previous chargers, accessories and docks obsolete? >> that's right. the idea is they are going to a smaller pin. i'm holding the older pin here. >> that's the one i have. >> if they go to the smaller pin, the micro usb. >> why would they do it though? >> makes sense, this one is proprietary. mario, why would they want to

continue to make something proprietary? this is standard. the european union is making standards to standardize. >> but you have to buy all new chargers. >> may already have it for e-readers and digital cameras and other devices. >> this will be the first iphone launch post-steve jobs. >> right. >> how important is this for the company? >> extremely important. also the first one since 2010 that's had a change to the actual physical features of the phone, the actual look and feel of the phone, but tim cook has to hit this out of the park. look, this has steve jobs' fingerprints already all over it. i want to see what tim cook does the fourth product from now. >> don't want to make this all about apple. if you're looking for a less expensive alternative, a couple of suggestions? >> the nokia, a window's phone, and the s-3, the one in litigation and all the litigation about the samsung galaxy on charge for 99 bucks online at amazon.com. >> mario.

thanks a lot. >> just don't use this one. >> 7:17. once again here's savannah. a former banker who helped americans dodge taxes will get a huge reward from the irs. his information helped expose a tax evasion scandal at a swiss banking giant. well, now he's set to receive $104 million for his efforts. cnbc has more details on this story. amon, good morning to you. >> reporter: for 41 men bradley birkenfeld sat in a federal prison in pennsylvania knowing he would walk out of there, owl out of work and unemployable or fabulously wealthy, and there was almost nothing he could do about it. bradley birkenfeld was an american working for the swiss bank ubs trying to help american clients avoid taxes. in 2007 he went to the u.s. government and revealed the inner workings of the famously secretive swiss banking system. still, the department of justice said birkenfeld withheld information about his own role and sent him to prison on conspiracy charges back in 2009.

birkenfeld was irate. >> this is the largest tax fraud case in the world and i sacrificed my reputation, my life, my finances, and this is how i get treated? >> reporter: but on tuesday birkenfeld's lawyers announced that he's getting a spectacular windfall, $104 million from the irs. >> today is a great day, a great day for the american taxpayer. >> reporter: by law, whistleblowers are entitled to a percentage of the money they return to the u.s. government, and birkenfeld's lawyers say the irs collected more than $5 billion in new taxes as a result of his information, justifying what could be the largest payout to a single whistleblower in u.s. history and sending a message to other financial executives. tell uncle sam what you know, and you could get very rich, even though the government might have to write checks to some unsavory characters. >> you don't have mother teresa and the boy scouts planning these things. it takes a rogue to catch a

rogue. >> reporter: in geneva birkenfeld's job was to court rich clients and move their money into secret accounts in switzerland. birkenfeld even once stashed expensive diamonds in a toothpaste tube to cross the border for a client. after birkenfeld came forward, ubs paid $780 million in penalties and turned over more than 4,000 client names to the u.s. government. thousands of additional secret accountholders have turned themselves in through an irs amnesty program. birkenfeld is still under home confinement and will have to pay taxes, yes, taxes, on the $104 million he's getting from the u.s. government. savannah? >> amon, thank you. coming up, never-before-seen photos that show scott peter season inside the san quentin prison and gives us a rare glimpse into his life on death row there. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, why some of the money you think going to charities may actually be going to telemarketers. then, are you wasting your money if you take daily fish oil supplements? and natalie's go-to play list. >> hit it. ♪ >> oh, that's a good one. >> yeah. >> the police. anything police, sting, i've got a lot of that. you're going to be hearing a very eclectic mix. >> thought we would walk down the '80s memory lane with you. >> a lot of that and a lot of broadway show tunes. >> deliver on your olivia newton john promise. >> we want our xanadu, natalie. >> that's coming, after your local news. se ♪ ♪ tell the neighbors, friends, everyone the news ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ there's a bigger one, if you want more space ♪ ♪ a small one if the city's your place ♪

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more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. prep your garden for fall. three bags of earthgro mulch is just $10. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. funeral services will be held later today for a harford county sheriff's deputy killed in and on the job car accident. the service begins at 11:00 this morning at the new life center in joppa. also today, and viewing for an aberdeen police officer. he was killed off duty when he fell nearly 50 ft. from the side

of i-95. his hearing is set from 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 this evening. let's get a check on the morning commute. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> definitely a busy morning rush. if you're heading out on the west side, 20 miles per hour on average. that accident is still clearing from the westbound 70 ramp to get out of the beltway. you can see this delayed moving from marriottsville towards 29, and jammed up out of owings mills. in upperco, hanover pike andover road, watch for a crash. 23 on southbound 295 heading towards 32. 140 in the area of the beltway, and you can see that there are outer loop delays. that is the latest on traffic

pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> lots of sunshine, and crisp, cool temperatures. 51 in taneytown. in little system out of the midwest that gives us a chance for rain. in the short term, more of the same. lots of sunshine, high temperatures will be in the upper 70's to 80 degrees. seven-day forecast over the weekend, just for a few showers on friday nigh

morning. it's the 12th of september, 2012, and natalie is playing deejay for the morning. right now she's firing up our crowd with slow riders hit "wild ones." >> this gets me going. >> is it a great running song? >> great running song and workout song. >> better than slow riders slow. >> i like that, too. i like all of slow rider. >> we're going to hear more of natalie's choices throughout the morning. meanwhile ahead, americans spend more than $1 billion every year on fish oil supplements, but are they virtually useless when it

comes to improving your heart health in the new research you're going to want to hear if you've got some fish oil supplements in your refrigerator this morning. all right. also ahead, a simple cure for baldness right around the corner. coming up, the vitamin that's showing remarkable promise giving hope to millions of men and women and 100% of "today" show anchors. >> that's not nice. let me ask you a question, if they could make you grow hair back would you grow it or stay the way you are? >> me, too. a little more ground cover, but i would not go to the look from the 1980s. >> no. >> this is low maintenance. it's good. on a more serious note, the murder of his pregnant wife made headlines around the world. seven years later we're seeing the first images of scott peterson on san quentin's death row. we'll talk to the woman who took some of these photos and find out exactly why she was given that access. we'll begin this half hour with a "today" investigation. americans donated nearly $300 million last year, but how much of that money actually went to the charities? if a telemarketer was involved,

the answer is probably much less than you think. nbc's senior investigator correspondent lisa meyers explains. good morning. >> reporter: hey, savannah, good morning. next time you get a call from a telemarketer askinging for a donation to a charity or for helping to raise money in the neighborhood, you may want to think twice. documents reveal in campaigns for some of the biggest charities, most of the money actually ended up with the telemarketer. carol patterson had diabetes in her family so when her phone rang last year. >> hi, mrs. patterson, this is [ no audio ] calling on behalf of the american diabetes association. >> reporter: she agreed to help, distributing envelopes to neighborhoods and kicking in $20 herself. >> i thought most of it would go to the american diabetes association. >> reporter: but recently she was shown documents revealing that almost 80% of the money actually went to the telemarketer. how did you feel when you learned that only 22% of the

money had made it to the charity? >> just surprised, disappointment, almost some anger. >> reporter: she says she won't be volunteering for this anymore. >> you just feel like you are betrayed, and it's very upsetting. >> reporter: the telemarketer involved was infocision management which calls itself the highest quality call center in the world. an investigation by "bloomberg markets" magazine found that a who's who of 30 non-profits have hired infocision and failed to tell donors that telemarketers keep most of the money raised. >> we found in a four-year period they kept 55% of the money they raised. >> reporter: infocision is doing so well they could afford $10 million to put its rights on this stadium at the university of akron, now call infocision

stadium. susan said that her late husband george paid both the diabetes group and the american cancer society in their neighborhood. >> he thought he was doing a good thing. >> reporter: she was stunned to learn in the case of both groups documents indicate that most of the money raised went to the telemarketer. >> the american people are being duped into doing this, and the money isn't going where you think it's going. >> reporter: but listen to what potential donors were told when they asked about where their money would go. >> 75% of every dollar goes directly to serving people with diabetes and their families. >> well, how much do you guys keep? >> there's no breakdown as far as that is concerned. >> reporter: in fact, the contract for this program said only 15% would make it to the charity. professor jim copp says this is deceptive fund raising. >> this is not ethical. it's a representation that's false. >> reporter: but vanetta bennett of the american diabetes association says she has no regrets about using the telemarketer.

>> lisa, this program is such a teeny weenie part of what we do. it's about bringing more people into the organization. >> reporter: so you don't think any of this is misleading? >> i do not. >> reporter: not even when you know in this program that it stipulates in your contract that 85% of the money is going to a telemarketer. why not tell the donor that? >> well, because it's not really true. >> reporter: it is true. >> when you think about what the organization does. with this campaign, it is true, but that's not indicative of the organization and the good work we do. >> reporter: she says of the $205 million raised overall last year, most without telemarketers, 73% did go for diabetes research and programs. what do you say to donors who feel duped? >> i say thank you if you gave your gift. it's making a difference. every single penny makes a positive impact. >> reporter: but that doesn't satisfy carol or susan. >> you find out more and more

that what you think are good guys aren't the good guys anymore. >> reporter: the american cancer society says it has not engaged in unethical behavior but no longer uses infocision saying telemarketing campaigns are more expensive but that overall 72% of all its contributions went to fight cancer. infocision says it provides value and integrity to its clients, some who have been with the firm for more than two decades. savannah. >> lisa myers in our washington newsroom, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> today's weather is brought to you by the makers of emergen-c. >> rain in las vegas in the last 24 hours, 1 to 3 inches of flooding and you are talking about flash flooding, homes flooded out, businesses, power outages, a real mess. good news is that is over, and they are finally getting a chance to do some cleanup.

we are seeing some changes as far as our temperatures are concerned. got a big ridge of high pressure in the east. out west the jet stream dips to the south. got a trough of low pressure, and that's bringing cooler conditions to the plains. look at these temperatures. anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees below averages. as you get into the rockies and central plains, but ahead of the front and that jet stream you can see temperatures anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above normal. in fact, you'll see temperatures in the 70s and 80s along the eastern seaboard. 90s texas into the central plains. 70s and 60s back into the pacific northwest. 90s in parts of southern california. that's what's going on aro >> good morning. a beautiful start on this wednesday. it will be a mild afternoon. we expect plenty of sunshine.

and that's your latest wet earth. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very much. now to a case that's gripped this face. it's been more than seven years since scott peterson was sentenced to death for the murders of his pregnant wife laci and unborn child. now we're getting the first look at his life on death row at california's san quentin prison: on christmas eve in 2002 laci peterson was reported missing from her modesto, california home, nearly eight months pregnant at the time. laci's husband scott peterson said he went fishing that day in san francisco, and when he returned home laci was gone. initial searches failed to find laci, but in april 2003 the remains of her unborn son washed ashore near where peterson told police he had gone fishing. laci's remains were found a day later. peterson was arrested and

charged with two counts of murder. at the time of his arrest he was carrying thousands of dollars in cash and several credit cards. he had also changed his appearance by dying his hair blond and growing a goatee. after a six-month trial a jury convicted peterson of killing laci and her unborn son and sentenced him to death, although peterson has always maintained his innocence. he remains on death row at san quentin state prison in california, and now these never-before-seen photos of peterson from just last june show a glimpse of his life inside. living at the largest death row in the country, peterson has his own cell identical to this one and is reportedly allowed to spend up to five hours a day outside of it, exercising or shooting hoops with other inmates. in july peterson's attorneys filed an appeal to the california supreme court alleging he did not have a fair trial. the appeal is expected to take years to resolve. nancy mulane is the journalist who took those photos of scott

peterson and her book is called "life after murder." good to see you. >> good morning. >> i want to emphasize right off the bat. your book has nothing to do with scott peterson so how did you end up in san quentin and get access to death row? >> i've been going inside san quentin since 2007 as a report because the first time i went inside san quentin, i was left alone in a room with men who had committed murder. it was a mistake. i wasn't supposed to be in the room, but i was by the public information officer, and the men i met in that room that day, men serving life sentences, unlike scott peterson who is serving a death sentence for committing murder. >> right. >> these men were serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. >> we want to talk about them in just a second. you go inside death row on that occasion. you have a camera obviously. you were allowed to take picture. what were the reactions from the inmates on death row? were they opposed to that? did they embrace you? how did they feel about you being there in. >> it's very interesting because there had been no reporters on death row in california in almost a decade, so it took me

years to build a relationship with the california department of corrections where they actually trusted me to be the first reporter to go in. >> and when you started taking these pictures, i think we should tell our viewers you did not realize were you capturing images of scott peterson. >> i didn't. it wasn't until two months later that i was actually reviewing the photographs, and i realized, oh, i think these are scott peterson. >> but you then did get a chance to see what his life is like on a daily basis, how he interacts with other prisoners and where he lives. what would you like to shed light on? >> well, i was inside death row for six hours. i interviewed inmates. i was allowed to walk up to their cell doors and talk to any inmates who were willing to talk to me. and it's a very confined environment. scott peterson is living in this -- in this tier, and then he has this one access to the roof. >> you mentioned this tier. it's my understanding that he was moved to a more prisoner-friendly sex of death row, if there is such a thing. >> well, there's a larger death

row. there are three death rows in san quentin. one is the adjustment center where problem death row inmates live. then there's east bloc where almost 600 live, and then there's this environment where scott peterson lives, and that's where 68 prisoners live. >> and did you have interaction with some of the prisoners. did you not speak to scott peterson. >> i did in the. >> he chose not to address new any way. these lifers that you actually wanted to write about, these are people who have committed these crimes, sentenced to life but with the chance of parole, though some have been paroled and some haven't, why do you think it's important we learn more about them? >> well, i think the men that i've met -- when you commit a murder, you can be given a death sentence, life without parole, or you can be given a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. that's the population that i have actually been studying for the last five years and reporting on. and what i have found is this is a population we don't know in prisons. you know, these are prisoners who are sentenced with the possibility of parole.

that means we as a society said you have the potential to change, but then they go behind the prison walls, and we never see them. >> and for those who are paroled, the challenges they face when they get back to a somewhat normal life, are what? >> well, they first have to be found suitable for parole. that means they have to go before a parole board, and only 10% in california are found each year eligible to be released. and even if they are found suitable for parole, in california the governor can reverse parole board decisions 150 days later, so over the last 22 years since we've had that law, we've seen somewhere between 75% and 99% of all parole board decisions be reversed by the governor, so getting out of california on a life with parole sentence, you actually have a greater chance of dying in prison on that sentence. >> interesting. >> but when they do get out, that's the population that i've been looking at. so my book, i wrote a book "life after murder," and it looks at this population that we don't know in the united states. we don't know what people who

commit a murder really are like after they have done the time, after they have done everything we've asked them to do. >> and would i say we need to know more about that. thank you, nancy, for sharing that. >> thanks for the opportunity. >> the book is called "life after murder." all for nothing. bad news for the millions of americans who take fish oil supplements every day to improve heart health. are they worth it right after this. ove dreamers. people and companies who take us places. excite our imagination. make life better. brighten our days. ♪ at jcpenney, we don't want to be another store. we want to be your favorite store. we're creating a whole new way to shop for the brands you love, at values you can believe in. and a bold new look that will look even better on you. ♪ keeping up with the kids is tough, so i drink emergen-c. with vitamin c for immune support

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back now at 7:46. this morning on today's health, the very popular supplement of fish oil used by millions touted for its ability to improve your heart health, among other things, but according to a new study in the "journal of the american medical association," it may not be as useful as you think. dr. mosca is the director of preventive cardiology at new york presbyterian hospital. good morning. >> good morning. >> this struck me as another one of those instances where you hear something is good for you, you get on the program and start taking those supplement and another study comes out and says, well, that doesn't really do much. what did this study find about fish oil? what's the bottom line? >> the bottom line is there's no benefit of the routine use of omega-3 fatty as kids. >> in terms of the supplements. >> we believe it's still important to eat fish on a regular basis. >> we'll get to the recommendations in a minute. are people essentially wasting their money if they are buying fish oil supplements and taking them? >> i actually believe the vast

majority of americans that are taking these supplements, not only fish oil supplements but other supplements, would be better served to use their money on a good fitness club membership. the science really does not support the universal use of these supplements. >> the study is a little bit confusing because on the one hand it says, okay, fish oil supplements, we looked at all these students. it does neither harm nor good, but there is evidence in the study that people taking the supplements suffered 9% fewer deaths and 11% fewer heart attacks so that's pretty good. >> right. we have to keep in mind that this study really combined a lot of studies from the past 20 years, and that small benefit that they observed was really due to older studies that were conducting in europe among men that had heart disease, and that was in an era where we didn't really have the standards of preventive care that we have today, and applying those results to today really may not be the case. >> a couple things. fish oil still good for you, for other things besides heart health. there are other benefits, right? >> well, there euro's purported

benefits, but the bottom line is the american heart association really only recommends that fish oils be considered in one situation, and that's really when you have high triglycerides or a cholesterol problem. >> whether it's fish oil or vitamin d or anything, i know you feel people should be getting in a naturally occurring mode, not out of supplements, right in. >> that's right. we have to keep in mind, savannah, there's no magic bullet. we're not here to tell people what they want to hear but what they need to hear. your mother was right. eat your fruits and vegetables, have a couple of servings of fish per week, get your regular exercise, don't smoke and watch your waistline. that's what will really give you a long and healthy wife. >> doctor, appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> just ahead, is a cure for baldness on the way? that answer just ahead. [ kate ] many women may not be properly absorbing

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell. >> we have delays around the area all the-vehicle crash on southbound 295. down to 16 miles per hour on average. pretty much expect delays prior to the beltway all the way down towards 97. outer loop this site is still stacked. -- outer loop west side is still

stacked. hanover pike andover road in upperco, watch for a crash. down to 25 miles per hour on southbound 795. outer loop northeast side, those delays continue towards dulaney valley. update in big area of belair road. delays in both directions to and from i-95. southbound traffic is inching along approaching padonia down to the beltway. taney, over to you. >> lots of sunshine out there, a little bit on the cool side. there is a little bit of rain in the midwest. in the short term, more of the same trip lots of sunshine going into the afternoon on the cool start. 80 degrees later on today. another nice when it tomorrow.

chance for public showers -- as for a couple of showers friday night, saturday morning.

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 12th day of september, 2012. picture perfect morning here in the northeast. by the way, deejay jazzy natalie is playing a little old school music for us here. we've got queen and david bowie, "under pressure," part of her play list that she goes to. >> great song. >> still to come, don't forget we still have that olivia newton john song that she's promised coming up later. meanwhile, out here on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker. >> what do we have coming up?

>> well, coming up, there's a cure for baldness. >> well, wait, wait, wait. >> could be. a possibility. >> looking at it. >> al's excited. >> it could be right under your noses which for you could be pretty good. >> you went after me twice in one thing. the bald and the nose in one intro. >> left out the ear hair so that's good. >> actually, it is something that could be exciting news for millions of americans or people all around the world but men and women because, let's not forget, there are women who suffer from hair loss as well. >> absolutely. >> really exciting. also ahead, our special correspondent ryan seacrest is sitting down with justin bieber in an interview that airs tomorrow on "today." take a look. >> i just don't want to be another teen heartthrob because that's just -- i think that that just annoys me, to think that that's what people will think of me or like -- i just want to prove people wrong. >> justin opens up about that. we'll be hearing more about his romantic side, also his mom is

there, so that's tomorrow on "today." >> and, you know, a lot of us have our digital cameras and have great pictures. >> yeah. >> we never see them because they stay in the camera. martha stewart is here and she will show us great ways, practical ways, to show off the great digital photos that you may have taken this summer. >> by the way, you're not one of those people. you take all these pictures and present us with books from time to time which is really nice. >> slide show, a little music. >> appreciate that. >> let's go back into deejay natalie with a check of all the headlines this morning. natalie. >> good morning, matt, savannah and al good morning, everyone. violent protests overnight in libya and egypt have killed at least four americans, including the u.s. ambassador to libya. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in cairo with more. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there are still protests going on here in cairo, but they are now very small and very contained. you can see a line of egyptian security forces keeping just a few dozen protesters away from the u.s. embassy's main gate, but the big news today, more

information about what happens when a mob, an armed mob attacked a u.s. consulate in benghazi yesterday. the white house now confirming that the u.s. ambassador was among those killed. this ambassador, chris stevens, part of the new generation of american ambassadors, young, very popular, very active. according to libyan security officials, he was holed up in a room and died apparently from smoke inhalation. the libyan government today has apologized for the attacks offering its apologies to the united states, the american people and all the people of the world. >> richard engel in cairo with the developing story there. thanks so much, richard. factory fires in two major pakistani cities tuesday claimed more than 300 lives. officials say at least 289 bodies have been pulled from the charred ruins of a clothing factory in karachi, and a fire at a shoe factory in lahore left at least 25 people there dead.

apple unveils the latest version of its iphone in san francisco today. the iphone 5 is expected to work with 4g cellular networks, a capability that many cell phone rivals already have, and there's speculation that it will have a bigger screen, will be slimmer in design and have a better camera lens. jpmorgan's chief economist says sales could actually be big enough to give a noticeable boost to the nation's gdp. meantime, facebook ceo mark zuckerberg is denying that facebook is developing its own smartphone. he said it is clearly the wrong strategy for facebook whose stock has lost nearly half of its value since the company's initial public offering in may. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> hey, natalie, good morning. with so much education in the news, as part of our focus at any time on "nightly news," we're going to talk about role models in the classroom, a program that brings dads and grandfathers into school. teachers are giving it a big grade.

we'll have that for you. it's our "making a difference" segment tonight. natalie, for now, back to you. >> all right, thanks, brian. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup what has you talking online. social security's list of the most popular baby names for 2011 has a lot of love for twilight. jacob was the top boy's choice while isabella was number two for the girls, but for a name with staying power, only a name fit for a prince will do. william was the only name to crack the top five in 2011 and going back to 1911. just in time for oktoberfest, the red robin chain has unveiled a new beer milkshake, yes, that's right. it combines ice cream and flavored syrup with sam adams draft. and a plea for this obese daschund who you see here today. he ballooned to 77 pounds because his previous owners showed him a bit too much love by overfeeding him.

after all works could say no to that little face. thanks to his new foster mom lost already 6 pounds and has 30 to go before he's down to a healthy wiener dog wait. more with obey and the foster mom coming up shortly. now six minutes past hour. back out to matt and savannah. >> that's really sad. >> on the road to recovery. >> we're going to talk to his foster mom in just a little bit. >> all right. >> and we've got some nice folks here. it's blue shirt day. what is it? >> hi. we're out here promoting october 1st is blue shirt day, world day bullying day of prevention, and we'll all wear our blue shirts in solidarity. >> on october 1st. >> making it the day of bullying prevention. >> good idea. thank you very much. let's see what we've got for you for your pick city of the day. just happens to be flint, michigan. nbc 25, mid-michigan's best, sunny, warm, 87 degrees today. that front is going to move through though. that will change those temperatures. can you see the front right now stretching from minnesota all

the way back down into the rockies. ahead of it, we've got warm air. temperatures are going to be in the 80s. 88 in chicago today, but 73 in southern -- in south dakota. look for 72 in seattle and a beautiful day today. showers and thundershowers down to southern florida. beautiful day up and down the eastern seaboard, and we've got a new 3-year-old. what's her name? >> this is lilly. >> hi. >> happy birthday. >> hi. >> good morning. going on around it will be another beautiful day today. a touch warmer than yesterday. sunshine with a high temperature near 80 degrees

and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> thanks, al. coming up next, a potential cure for baldness right around the corner? we'll have that story coming up right after this. ♪ i love cash back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow!

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check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. [ female announcer ] with depression, simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. simple pleasures shouldn't hurt. talk to your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. we're back now at 8:11 with a potential new hope for millions of americans bedeviled by baldness. here's nbc's craig melvin. >> reporter: in recent years, screen stars and athletes have embraced the inevitable, making chrome domes cool. and now there's the dashing royal landing a beautiful princess despite his thinning hair. colin watson is bald and proud. scott evans started shaving it

15 years ago. >> once you go bald, you don't go back. >> reporter: but not every member of the bald brotherhood is happy about losing their hair. doctors like mark dauer perform more than 1,000 hair replacement surgeries a year. >> what i see in my patients is when we can restore the hair, in the only does it make them feel better about themselves, but it restores their self-confidence. >> reporter: but at an average cost of between $8,000 and $12,000, hair restoration surge have i too expensive for many. many turn to popular drugs like propecia and row gain. soon though some hope there may be another option. >> this research that we've come up with is fantastic news for us. >> reporter: recently japanese scientists figured out how to grow human hair on hairless mice. scientists discovered there's a nutrient that seems to awaken the receptors and follicles that shot down in hair loss, that nutriien and possible cure for

baldness, vitamin d. >> i don't think it's the level of vitamin d. it's how the vitamin d is being handled by the receptors in the follicles that may be part of the reason why we lose our hair when we get older. >> reporter: that's cause for cautious optimism. >> in the next few years we'll have many other options that ultimately one day will make hair loss a voluntary thing. >> if they could do it, i'd think about it, but they got to convince me first. i'm a non-believer. >> reporter: some are skeptical about a miracle cure. others don't see the need. >> i choose to stay bald. i'm comfortable. i like the look. my wife likes the look. i'm good. >> i like his look, too. that was nbc's craig melvin. dermatologist susan taylor joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> people who have lost their hair or dare i say a cure, let's understand about what exactly causes people to lose hair. >> sure. many different causes of hair loss, but the bottom line is that there are three phases of hair growth, the anagen or

growth face, that can last two to five years but there's a sleeping phase. that's only supposed to last weeks or months, but sometimes it becomes permanent, and that can lead to ballotness. >> so the follicle goes to sleep. >> that's right. >> and what is it about vitamin d that can actually reawaken that follicle? >> well, what scientists have found is that vitamin d and the receptors, so that you can think of the receptor as a lock. vitamin d is the key that fits into the lock, and that seems to cause hair to grow, and also can help generate stem cells. those are cells that can turn into follicles to form. >> did this research indicate whether vitamin d might one day be more effective than things like row gain and propecia and other drugs? >> well, row gain and propecia they prevent furth hair loss. well, the hope is with vitamin d and activating the receptor, turning the receptor on to grow hair, that we can either cure hair or take a bald scalp and grow hair. >> what are we suggesting, that

one day there will be an ointment of vitamin d, or are we going to be ingesting it? how will we get it into our systems? >> we're not quite sure, so right now all the science is done in the lab. it's done in animals and cell cultures. we'll have to wait and see if it's vitamin d that will activate the receptors or the compounds, something that activates the resomors. >> a lot of bald men who want their hair back. are we suggesting that you'll at one point get the vitamin d in your system and you'll start sprouting hair again, or will this take years, months. >> >> we don't know. we don't know. we hope it's a potential cure, but there's much work to be done to translate what we've learned in the lab to humans. >> just a fun fact for our friends without hair. you lose about 100 hairs from your scalp every single day. >> every single day. >> that's right. >> which means in about two and

a half weeks i'm mr. clean. that's good. doctor, thank you. nice to see you. >> thank you. up next, martha stewart shares some creative uses for your family's summer photos. that's right after this. [ music playing ]

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♪ back now at 8:20. this morning "martha on today," her picture project. don't know what to do with all the photos you took over the summer. martha has some ideas and those ideas can be found in the latest edition of "martha stewart

living." . great ideas for the digital edge. >> people are collecting thousands of those images on their cameras and little picture sticks and you better do something with them. >> no one ever sees all the cute pictures you take. >> don't throw away your full memory card. keep them. just keep them because you may want to refer to one of those pictures. another thing to do with your beautiful summer imagery is to iron on some images on to tote bags. >> cute idea. >> make great gifts. >> how do you pull this off? >> you print your pictures on this wonderful on iron-on transfer paper, an avery product can you find in any craft store and make the image like this. this is me on my horse. >> how cute. >> and then you iron on to the back of a bag. >> okay. >> now, this is a great tote bag. >> now, should you be at maximum hotness on your iron? >> it should be hot, and do you this for about a minute. we're already ironed so we don't have to watch me iron, and then you pull this off. >> immediately. >> and such a gorgeous image.

that's me and my friend dan having lunch out on the terrace in maine. >> you pick up the green. >> and this one is baby jude holding her first sand dollar. >> adorable. a pretty easy one. i feel like this one has a higher degree of difficulty. >> this is a little harder but this is making beautiful picture blocks using imagery, nice as paper weights on your table or your desk and paint the black. you get this little box of wood from woodworks limited and paint them white, and then you use this fantastic soft gelled medium, and you paint on top, you can do this one. paint on top. >> this is soft gel what? >> soft gel medium, and it allows you to transfer imagery from paper to something like this block. this has to stay on here for one hour. then you take the picture and you'll you a ply it to the

block. put the soft gel medium right on the block here. >> and then you apply your picture face-side down. >> let this sit on for an hour. >> this is an hour, okay. this stays on here just like that for one hour. use this little tool, burnisher to make sure you get it flat. >> there it is. it's been on one hour. wet it with your wet paper towel like this. >> why do you do that? >> the only way to get the paper off easily without ripping off the imagery. >> oh, okay. >> and then just peel off the paper part. >> it comes off. >> okay. >> and you're left with -- >> you'll just have to trust us. it's a very beautiful imagery. >> and this is nice just to make a photo collage out of round pictures. really focusing on the people, on the places, and you have a very pretty picture of the back of a boat. >> how do we get the circles?

>> this is a circle cutter. now hold this ring down, one of our craft projects which i think is one of the most brilliant because it allows you to cut. press very gently and slowly around and around. it's a circle cutter. it allows you to make any size circles, all these little holes. >> i think i've got it. >> lift this up, and you have a perfect circle. >> oh, you do. >> i kind of do. >> yes, you did it perfectly. >> ta-da. >> so these get applied with a guy on to a picture like that. >> and in 30 seconds, that is no-glue scrapbook. >> a little pocket where you can put your pictures and write your imagery and put pictures in a jar and all the things you collect on vacation. >> ticket stubs, anything fun. >> kids love this. it's a very nice way to take the things that you've collected and display them and not forget your vacation. >> good hostess gift, too. martha stewart, you're so clever

and crafty. thank you so much. >> thank you. now let's get special birthday wishes from our friend willard scott. hey, willard. >> what a sight, what a spot, take a look at the washington national cathedral and it's on the highest elevation of land in this area. god bless. we're here doing birthdays. happy birthday to hugo, you son of a gone. beautiful hugo warns of baltimore, maryland. you can see top of baltimore from the top of the cathedral, 100 years old. secret to longevity, a little bourbon and chasing women. isn't that something. overland park, kansas, over that way near the mississippi river. anyway, sarah zeldin is 100 years old today, and she's had so many wonderful things, very active in charity and her church work. good old gordon. i love that name. gordon bohler of lenox, georgia,

104 years old today. loves to spend time singing and praying. that's a combination you can't go wrong. mary davis of lewisburg, tennessee is 105, and her husband was a fireman for so many years and finally, recently some of the guys took her for a ride on the fire truck on her 100th birthday. ever been with the dog, the dalmatians and ole those spots? joe just got back from the rodeo show. joe lamping of medford, oregon, is 100 years old today, and he loves to build things. as a matter of fact, he built the house he still lives in to this day. that's an art, a skill. i can't even write my name. mary jo, how beautiful she is, mary jo hammond, huntington west virginia, 100 years old today, loves watching baseball and having an occasional whiskey sour. just don't run out of oranges. that's it. that's all from the cathedral. now back to new york. >> all right, willard. thanks. just ahead, howie mandel

will be here to give us a preview of the "america's got talent" finale. there he is. >> with a preview. >> and it's natalie's song what. are you >> good morning. i am mindy basara. final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> very busy out there. dealing with delays due to accidents around de area. bw parkway has two separate crashes. for this out, another one at 175. those delays intermittently from the beltway down to 32. westbound 70, a accident. 13 miles per hour on reisterstown road.

and over road,nd ove a crash. 27 miles per hour from white marsh down to the split. north side, both delays to and from 95. at ridge road in rosedale, attracting an accident. live view of traffic. but it on the northeast corner. stacked in both directions. 295 south, delayed from the beltway down. >> beautiful start for us. clear skies, temperatures in the 50's. we did into the 40's earlier this morning in the western suburbs. we're watching a little bit of rain in the west. up until that time, very little change.

81 tomorrow before the clouds thickening up on friday. >> we are back with another update. anncr: this casino's in west virginia.

but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative...

services, hundreds of millions for our schools. while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. ♪ xanadu >> yes, finally the song we've been waiting for. >> wednesday, september 12th, 2012. sunny here in manhattan. our guests have been enjoying the musical styling of natalie morales. >> why do you love this song? >> you know, this brings back

memories. "xanadu" a cult favorite film of mine. it's fun. ♪ xanadu >> 1980," xanadu," 1980s. >> by the way, more music friday when korean pop sensation psy brings his "gangnam style" right here to today. get ready for the dance moves you've been practicing. >> the giddy-up show. >> that's friday morning on today. >> everybody limbered up. >> i like that move. that's my favorite move. >> i'm not sure can i do that one. >> what else is happening? >> it's going to be funny. >> we're going to go to the kitchen with mark. who doesn't love short bread. >> love it. >> mark is going to show us the different ways can you prepare it. i cannot wait, man. >> this is kind of a serious note because we also have the

dog obie inside, the little daschund who is not so little. very overweight, and he's now battling to shed some of those unwanted pounds so we'll talk to his new foster mom who has put him on a diet. >> we'll check in on that, and first hello to howie mandel of "america's got at all end." hi, howie. >> good to see you. >> we're not touching hands. >> no germs have been -- >> here i am on fashion week. >> and looking so fashionable. >> zippers. >> back-to-school pants. >> very nice. >> let's talk about the competition. the viewers that pick, but do you have a favorite or someone who you think has the line in? >> i do. the guy who plays the earth harp is the guy i put my money on, if i had to invest. i don't think the audience is -- i think the audience is going to go with the dogs or tom kotter because it's easier for them to connect with a human being or cute dogs. >> i liked that act. >> i've been tweeting live and i

sense that that's how america is going. >> are you getting a cents that your fellow judges share your opinion on this after a year? have you gotten a pretty good sense for where your tastes are similar and different? >> absolutely, yes. >> howard and i are, you know, we agree and we respect each other and we also disagree, you know. >> on this decision? >> no. i think that we all see -- you kind of get a sense. i tweet live during the show @howiemandel, but i can sense, can i see. last week when the untouchables, the little girl group, you know, the little kids. >> the dancer. >> phenomenal dancer. when she broke down crying at end i lacked at my twitter, oh, my god, oh, my god, got to vote for the little girl. saw the sentiment change. i'm thinking it will be tom kotter because he makes people laugh or the adorable little dogs because everybody loves dogs. >> looking ahead to next season, you'll be back. what about sharon os bourne with

the whole thing blowing up there? >> i've heard what you heard, but i hope she would come back, i don't know, but i -- i heard what you heard. you know howard, is howard coming back? >> if you come back and sharon comes back, he'll come back. >> oh, wow. >> really? >> right here. >> i have no idea. he doesn't share that. >> he hasn't made a decision. i fly in from l.a. every week, and five-hour flight, get off the flight, show up, do the show. he comes from here and goes, boy, this traffic is killing me. >> you never complain. >> that really wasn't a complaint. >> i love it. can you believe this is a job? >> a pretty cool show. >> feel like i got a bad turnout for my summer concert series. >> you're going to stick around with us at the top at 9:00. >> help us with our "take 3." >> you're making it clear that i have no place to go. nothing to do but tonight. the final tonight. everybody's got to tune n.tweet me live. this is the finale. >> let me get it straight. do you tweet live? >> yes. >> i'm kidding that.

>> my twitter handle. >> @howiemandel. >> will you tweet us? >> i've got six followers, i'm looking for eight. >> come on, everybody. >> howie mandel, season finale tonight. thank you. see you at 9:00. >> mr. roker. >> okay. that's what's going on around the country,th >> good morning. a beautiful start on this wednesday. it will be a mild afternoon. we expect plenty of sunshine. don't forget, can you check that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online and if you don't like that weather,

tweet me @alroker. >> coming up, dr. due pinsky is here to talk about his show that helps ordinary people overcome addiction. but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:38. for five seasons dr. drew pinsky has helped celebrities overcome addiction on his vh-1 show, and now he's taking on the challenge of healing eight ordinary people. >> i feel if i don't get help i'm dead. >> i'm asking you to save my life. >> save my mommy. >> i'm an alcoholic. i need help. i don't want to be like this. this is horrible. >> i'm at home and in pain. >> dr. drew pinsky is in charge of treatment on "rehab with dr. crew" and mary ann's son michael has received treatment on the show. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> these are normal people who

battle addiction just as much. is the treatment think different for celebrities? >> treatment is exactly the same. in my day in and day out career that's what i've done, celebrities sprinkled throughout. addiction is a disease that affects everybody. it cuts across all classes, all ethnicities. it's really to me the medical problem of our time. >> you linkened yourself to an oncologist saying basically addiction is like cancer in its seriousness. >> if you have a bad enough addiction the prognosis is worse. you're probably dying. if you need to see me, it's higher than the significant majority of cancers, and it's like the oncologist. you do the best you can. the frustrating thing about this disease though is if people continue and stay in treatment, they are going to do well. the sad thing is they drift away. it's like a diabetic refusing to take their insulin, things go bad. >> and the show does not paint a pretty picture of addiction. >> not a pretty disease. it's a tough disease. >> how serious are the folks in

treatment on the show? >> these people had to find their way on to the show in spite of them being sick and their disease, and they really want a treatment, and they were really in need of treatment. it's exciting. you may see me say on the show i'm so excited because we can really help these people. they need us. >> talk to me about your son because i read his background. he sounds like a great kid and not somebody you who expect to develop what he said was a 40 a bag a day heroin. >> started with prescription painkillers which is a very big problem across the country now, and basically you're surprised, but my son is everyone else's son out there. it's a stigma. it's not -- it's your boy next door. it's your athletic children, and that's a big problem. the parents are not educated to even think that their child, this so-called perfect child can do this, and it barrels out of control. it's not like when we were young. it's not having a beer.

it's pills and pills and pills, and then they go to the heroin because instead of $30 a pill, it's $5 a bag and pretty much the same substance. >> and how is he doing now? >> he's actually doing really well now. thank good for the opportunity. >> must be hard though. it's an opportunity, and i know you worked so hard. almost lost your house trying to get treatment for him and if it provides treatment on the other hand, here he is on national television bearing all. >> i'm okay with it. if he can save a life out there, i'm on -- i'm on board. you know what? i know in the end he'll make me shine because he truly is a wonderful kid, made some bad choices and went down the wrong road. >> this is what you're watching footage of now. a great kid. denise brings up two great points. parents will say not my kid. scariest thing you can say. i'm sure you said it. >> absolutely. >> pills, pills, pills, i don't care if they get on them because they had an orthopedic injury. pills is the way kids get going.

>> it's the new gateway drug. >> it's the gateway and it's the killer. it's both. >> what do you think, dr. drew, about this experience? i mean, obviously those who are in treatment benefit from the treatment. >> yeah. >> but do you think being on camera and having this national exposure? >> yeah. >> is good for their treatment? >> well, it's much to our amazement the cameras and doing it publicly has been good for people who went through it. the celebrities felt sort of like they wanted to be an example for other people, motivated them to stay sober. this is a new experience doing it with not celebrities and they are anxious about being on camera. we did this six months ago and they are all in treatment. six to eight are in treatment, all sober and doing remarkably well, but what they need is a year of treatment, and we're making sure they get that. >> that's good to here. denise, thank you for sharing your story. >> and "rehab with dr. drew" premiers this sunday night on vh-1. coming up next, a much lighter note, an easy baking project. but

so... [ gasps ] these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? maybe. rich chocolate chips... i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and, and...and then the awards started coming in, and i became addicted to the fame. topped with chocolaty drizzle... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. fiber beyond recognition.

♪ we're back now at 8:44 with "how to cook everything today." this morning we're baking short bread cookies. mark's recipe is in the current recipe of the "new york times" mag scene. mark is also the author of "how to cook everything, the basics" and 340 other books. >> 341. >> short bread in its most basic form is a cookie, what is it? >> it is a cookie and a very short cookie, and short means lots of fat. >> why does short mean lots of fat? >> some old english thing, don't want to go there, like etymology. >> one of the things i notice is if you're making basic shortbread, very few ingredients. >> really what it is is butter and sugar held together by as little flour as you can manage to turn it into a cookie so that what you're tasting is butter and sugar. >> the recipe is really easy. >> the whole thing is really easy. >> okay. creamed butter.

we add some sugar. >> fair amount of sugar. >> and an egg yolk, and there's some salt in here, too. >> okay. i like these a little bit salty. just that tiny bit of saveriness is great. and then you cream that a little more. cream the sugar with the butter. obviously a standing mixer makes this very easy, and when that's mixed, you add a little at a time, and we'll try to do it a little at a time because i think we have time for that. you add a mixture of flour and corn starch and the reason you use -- >> the consistency you are looking for flaky and light like dense that i had some in london, pretty dense. >> pretty dense, because there's a lot of fat in there. it's really an excuse to eat butter, really an excuse to be eating butter. the reason you add a little corn starch is because what you want is to develop as little gluten as possible. you don't want any toughness. you want it to be as tender as it can be.

>> all right. >> so once we have the basic recipe, now you can actually get a little bit more creative and add some different flavors, and have you some examples of those here. >> you can obviously add -- if you add pecans you have pecan sandies, so any kind of nuts, make savory shortbreads so olive oil and rosemary and parmesan and black pepper. this is a paper towel and poppy seed with a little bit of lemon. espresso and chocolate, anything you can, and your favorite here, coconut and lime. >> i'm not a big coconut fan. >> but if you're adding different flavors, especially the savories, do you change the recipe? >> stays the same. >> adding olive oil, cut the butter by a little bit but stays the same. >> now you have your shortbread dough. how do you work it? >> you have the dough and it into a long and get fancier and shape it into a triangle. feel that, i mean, it's really hard.

>> if you have a -- a log, like this, and then you can just cut cookies, youno know, real like the mixes you pie in a store, and these are keep in the freezer forever. >> you can do the circular log as well. >> or can you roll it out. >> need to soften it a bit before you roll it out and cut it with a knife like that or use a cookie cutter. >> all right. you put it on a baking pan, a creased baking pan? >> because there's so much butter in here you don't need any -- you don't need any more grease. >> how long does it cook? >> 20 minutes or so, 15 even. >> here's what they look like when they are done, and then you add a little more zest to them. >> another thing you can do is melt some chocolate, and just dip like that, and that will set up in ten minutes, or you can fridge rate that and beautiful. >> you know what the best way to eat them is, just plain? >> i like the plain ones, too. >> you should try one of the savory once. >> mark bittman, good to see

you. >> thanks, matt. we'll be back with much more, including obie, the 77-pound daschund on a quest to lose weight, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:50 with a modern marvel. the city beneath the city here in new york. nbc's willie geist rolled up his sleeves to find out what it takes to expand new york city's

massive subway system. willie, good morning to you. >> rolled up my sleeves and put on a hard hat as i think you'll be entertained to see in a moment. as new yorkers go about their hectic leaves this morning, deep beneath their feet on the city's east end is a mile of tunnels and army of construction workers pulling off a staggering feat. operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week and carrying more than 5 million passengers every weekday, the subterranean world is as busy as the crowded streets above. the subway system first opened in 1904, but the planned second avenue expansion has been delayed again and again by financial constraints and a world war. this 30-year engineer is the president for the mta capital construction group and the man running this gigantic operation. i'm thinking about the scope of this project. what's the first thing you do? >> make sure that people understand what you're doing. >> reporter: construction of a

new two-track subway line on manhattan's east side has meant disruptions of entire neighborhoods with years of drilling and blasting. >> i started to go from store to store. we set up meetings with stakeholders in neighborhoods, and it took a while. >> reporter: can you show me around downstairs. >> absolutely. >> reporter: where are we standing right now? what will this look like four years from now? >> right now we are at the end of the 72nd street station, about 69th street. let's walk down. >> okay. this was nothing but rock when you started. when did it begin to take shape? how long does that take? >> at the very beginning as we go in behind the machine, the tunnel boring machine, will you see the immediate results. >> reporter: this boring machine powers through the rock to make the tunnel. it's a massive piece of equipment.

at 850 feet long, the head alone weighs more than 200 tons and cuts a hole 22 feet in diameter. how fast does the boring machine move? >> the boring machine, if you have good ground, can do about 100 feet a day. >> reporter: but some of the ground is too soft, so believe it or not, they actually freeze the ground to keep it from collapsing as the machine cuts its path. how do you freeze the ground? >> well, what we did is we put pipes into the ground, aluminum pipes, and then you put inside another pipe and you put a brine. we froze the ground up to about minus 30, to minious 40 fahrenheit. once that is solid can you go with the machine screw and bore it like a rock >> reporter: foundations of all the buildings surrounding the projects had to be inspected before digging could begin. >> we had to survey all of the buildings beforehand it make sure that they would withstand the vibration, so many of the

buildings we fixed. >> reporter: my gosh, what are we looking at here? >> dr. h leads me to a breathtaking underground cavern the size of a basketball arena that's been cleared to make space for the future 72nd street station. >> now look at this afternoon, right? >> reporter: immense. after a ride back up the elevator we head uptown to a site that's just starting to blast out rock below the street w.explosives in place, traffic is stopped, the warning horatio -- warning hornblows and then i was ready to head down with the crowd but first loose and limber. i descend into the hole with a little adult supervision. we heard the blasts upstairs and now we're down here in the hole. this is what we were blastinging right? >> that's correct, willie. we need to spray water on it part of keeping the dust down for community.

>> reporter: this is what they have entrusted me with, a rubber hose. i wanted heavy equipment. they give me a garden hose. after a couple of minutes spraying down the dust like a pro i asked my boss for a promotion. not for nothing, but i think i'm pretty good with this hose. >> you are good. >> reporter: ready for the front loader, right? >> i'm going to put a request in for that. that's as far as can i tell snow put in the paperwork? i won't hold my breath. still waiting for that paperwork to go through. the first phase of this extraordinary project expected to be finished though not until december 201. a lot of people have talked about disruptions to businesses in the neighborhood. the selling point for these guys is we're creating access to your stores and businesses, if you can hang in there with us for a few years, this is going to be a revitalized neighborhood. >> by the way, want to kiss me right on the lips. >> the bob the builder look for you. >> like that. >> the village people called. >> you can't see it on tv, i have a giant melon. they couldn't find a helmet to

fit me. >> really, you have a big head. >> vents noticed. >> willie geist, thank you. >> just ahead, one-minute do-it-yourself home fix-it. >> but first more from natalie's go-to play list. >> ub40 "red, red wine." >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore county police say they want to speak to the adult grandson of an overly couple found dead inside their home. matthew long was not seen at the home that he shares with grandfather of vaughn pepper and

run mother marjorie. run mother marjorie. hi. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. two flavors. in harmony. honey bunches of oats. make your day bunches better.

>> another beautiful day after the cool start. a persephones to around 80 degrees. -- upper 70's 2 around 80 degrees. chance for rain comes in friday night to saturday morning. night to saturday morning. >>